This is the biggie for Vietnam...the whole country goes crazy!For the next 10 days the country pretty much closes down & the party begins...Saigon is emptying out, as people head to their ancestral homes & families...those staying behind, or coming to their families here, will keep the city rocking ....but forget about getting anything done, most of the city will close down!

It is the tradition of TET that you get your house in order before the sacred day (Feb 19th)...both literally & figuratively...homes are being cleaned, repaired & decorated, within an inch of their lives....new clothes are bought...debts are paid....apologies to those you have wronged, are made..

My alley has been a hive of activity for the past week.....ladies sitting outside having their hair coloured by neighbours...a roving hairdresser busy snipping her way from one end of the alley to the other...(there is a group of about 10 teenagers who live in & roam the alley in threes & fours...not bad lads, just full of the joys of puberty...lolLast night I noticed that every one of them has had their hair dyed bright orange....from my balcony it looked like drifts of autumn leaves wafting past...LMAO)

Large trees & bushes are being ferried all over town on the back of motorbikes...mostly rented for the duration (the trees, not the bikes...lol)...Kumquat (for prosperity), Peach or apricot blossom (good luck)...huge pots of yellow chrysanthemums...looks like a mobile garden....My guesthouse has a 6 ft kumquat tree in the foyer, along with great pots of flowers, & branches of blossom...I almost need a pith helmet & machete to get to the stairs...lol

The Kumquat has arrived....

It is also tradition that you give gifts of food for TET....I bought two baskets...one for my guesthouse family & one for my friend Long....kids get given TET envelopes containing money....

From tomorrow the official ten days of TET will start....There will be street parades, street markets, whole streets closed off & laid with carpets of flowers....constant partying!All leading up until New Years Eve (18th) which will involve a citywide party to end all party's...culminating in a 45 min fireworks display!The next day is like our Xmas Day...very sacred (well...supposed to be)...families eating all day, visiting gravesites etc...Apparently on this day, thousands of Buddhist monks will circulate the city on foot, begging for alms...

I love the pics of your home Alley. Definitely looks very interesting. Don't you be overdosing on jasmine tea ay.
And I love that you can just get on a bus to nowhere so to speak. What a cheap and interesting day out.
Happy TET to you :)